2010 LatinVision CEO Summit Conference Recap

by Nikelle Feimster, Media Relations Specialist, Business Wire/New York


LatinVision’s CEO Summit Conference 2010 was held on Monday, Oct 4th at the Time Warner Center in New York City. CEOs and marketing executives from companies including HipCricket, Telemundo, Univision , People en Español, HBO, and Business Wire were present. They shared insight into how marketers and advertisers can engage and connect with consumers in the Hispanic market through various channels including social media, and mobile and online marketing.


The first panel discussed how social media has evolved in the multicultural space, and how advertisers are taking advantage of social media platforms. It was revealed that Latinos visit more social networking sites, news sites, and maintain more blogs than the general market.


Today, there is an increase in the number of companies that are using social media as part of their overall strategy to reach and engage Latinos. Monica Talan, VP Corporate Communications, Univision, said companies should try to engage in conversations. Univision had a lot of success with the World Cup by providing blogs and social media fan pages to engage users and new audiences. According to Talan, every department of a company is part of their social media strategy. “It can be challenging but you have to put the resources in it and stay committed.”


Lucinda Martinez-Desir, VP-Acquisition & Multicultural Marketing, HBO, did their entire “No Es Lo Mismo” campaign on Facebook, Twitter, mobile and online. For this campaign, everything was integrated and married to traditional media.


Everyone seemed to agree on the importance of having a social media strategy, not just a Facebook strategy. Here are a few tips on how marketers can leverage the Latino phenomenon on social media to their advantage:


o Start conversations that are really meaningful to consumers.
o Engage with people who have influence on consumers, like the world of bloggers, not the marketing department.
o Build brand equity.
o Have a conversation with the client – be innovators together so you both understand that there will be risks involved.

When it comes to mobile and online marketing, Ivan Braiker, Co-Founder & CEO, Hipcricket, said it’s all about engagement. Latinos are early adopters of technology, including mobile devices. In fact, Scott Hamilton, President & CEO, VoodooVox, pointed out that the mobile phone is the ultimate social network that existed before FaceBook. With over 5 billion text messages being sent per day, mobile is an effective way to engage an audience and it creates a deeper connection with your brand.


Here are some best practices for mobile and online marketing:


o Engage people with content early and make sure your site is current.
o Help clients design content specifically for mobile.
o Be able to use mobile and interact with the user to the point of sale.
o Know your audience and text the right people.

Business Wire’s President, Gregg Castano, participated in the panel discussion, “Digital vs. Print Media and the Language of the Next Latin Generation.” Castano pointed out that Latinos are the fastest growing online population with 85% of U.S. born Latinos using the internet. “The key to the success of brands is how they crossover to digital,“ said Castano. “Marketers should place quality content on relevant channels to attract the most eyeballs.”


Business Wire can help brand marketers and brand leaders actively engage with Latino customers. By utilizing our LatinoWire product line, companies can bolster their print and web marketing campaigns. With LatinoWire, your press release reaches the leading Spanish-language news and information outlets throughout the U.S., including more than 1,200 Hispanic print, broadcast and online media outlets.


LatinVision is a New York-based organizer of conferences and networking events focused on marketing to U.S. Hispanics and Latin American executives. Business Wire is a sponsor of LatinVision Media’s Marketing to Latinos Conferences. To learn more about the LatinVision Media 2010 Conferences Series visit www.latinvision.com/marketing



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